The Jockey Club today reported that 3,439 stallions covered 56,901 mares in North America during 2008, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 9, 2009. These matings have resulted in 31,727 live foals of 2009 being reported to The Jockey Club on Live Foal Reports received as of Sept. 9, 2009.

As in past years, The Jockey Club estimates that the reporting of live foals is

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory (EMSL) has received a three-year extension of its contract with the Louisiana State Racing Commission to provide drug testing of racehorses in the State.

A rabid horse in El Paso County, Colo., has been euthanized and the County Department of Health and Environment is underscoring the critical importance of vaccinating pets and livestock and avoiding wild animals.

“Rabies infection in horses is rare,” said Public Health Director Kandi Buckland, RN, MPA. “We anticipate that the infection was caused by skunk rabies, which greatly concerns u

The 55th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners will take the stage in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 5-9. The convention is expected to attract more than 3,500 veterinarians, veterinary students, and technicians for scientific lectures, industry forums, networking events, and other opportunities for professional development.

All sessions will be held at the

Horse owners faced with the decision to find their horses a new home, whether it be locating that perfect retirement home, a new job in therapeutic riding, the mounted patrol, or even with a new owner, need to ask some important questions before giving up care of their animal. Own Responsibly, the Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) handbook, can provide a guide.

In order to ensure

Tickets to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will go on sale Sept. 25 at noon EST, exactly one year before the Games begin in Lexington, Ky.

Ticket sales will be facilitated by Ticketmaster and sold through alltechfeigames.com and ticketmaster.com. Tickets will

A training symposium focusing on retraining the retired racehorse will be offered by professional three-day event rider and clinician Steuart Pittman Oct. 4 in Crownsville, Md.

The purpose of this event is to demonstrate the skills that a rider needs to train a retired racehorse and to promote these generous athletes.

In the first segment, Pittman will evaluate and ride some sport

Amidst reports of horses being abandoned due to the struggling economy, the University of Illinois Extension has scheduled a telephone conference on October 6 from 6:30 to 8:00p.m. to address this issue.

“Horses and other animals are suffering from the economic downturn right along with their owners,” said Ellen Phillips, U of I Extension educator. “Across the country, horses are being

Five horses have been reported stolen from their Tampa-area pasture. An eyewitness watched the situation unfold, unaware the animals were being stolen.

The thieves pulled up a fence post, cut the fence, and released two horses of their own to help them corral the others that were grazing in the pasture. The thieves then drove through the fence, loaded the horses, came back through and

The U.S. Senate has passed the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (S1023). Introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), this bill could benefit tourism involving the horse industry.

“Equine tourism is a growing and diverse segment of the horse industry,” said American Horse Council President Jay Hickey. “Because it

Purina Horse Feed has donated $10,000 to the Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIUC) Equine Science Program in an effort to help rebuild the SIUC Horse Center after a severe storm struck Carbondale, Ill., on May 8, 2009. The SIUC Equine Science Program and Horse Center has been instrumental in past research and field testing of Purina’s Equine Senior horse feed.

The SIUC Equine

Registration is still open for the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners’ 5th annual Promoting Excellence Symposium, to be held Oct. 1-3 on Marco Island, Fla.

The meeting offers 34 hours of continuing education credits for veterinarians, including two hours of Florida pharmacy credit.

The scientific program includes multiple presentations on colic, racehorse health,

Standing outside his barn at Saratoga the morning of Sept. 6, trainer Steve Asmussen was still basking in the glow of Rachel Alexandra’s historic victory in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes as he reported the filly came out of the race in good shape.

“I honestly don’t know (what her next race will be),” said Asmussen. “I heard Jess (Jackson) say (she might not run again this year) at the

Some of the world’s leading equestrian talent will be at Manfeild, New Zealand, this month to team up with Massey University’s leading equine scientists and sporting academics for the International Equestrian Federation regional dressage forum.

The forum will be held at Manfeild’s Agri-Stadium in Feilding, Sept. 12-14.

The University is co-hosting the forum with Dressage New

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has confirmed and announced Virginia’s first positive case of West Nile virus (WNV) in a horse for 2009. The 16-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse mare was from Pittsylvania County. Onset of clinical signs was Aug. 17 and necropsy at VDACS’ Regional Animal Health Laboratory in Lynchburg took place on Aug. 21. The Division

 Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Michael Matz, Keeneland sales inspector Ryan Mahan, Fasig-Tipton sales inspector Bill Graves, and noted bloodstock agent Buzz Chace share their knowledge and guiding principles when it comes to analyzing conformation in Conformation for Performance, a DVD released by Blood-Horse Publications.

The DVD is an hour-long, step-by-step guide for assessing